1 Choosing a topic

Choosing a suitable topic is a must for writing research papers. “When scientists decide to write a research paper, one of the first things they do is to identify an interesting subset of the many possible topics of scientific investigation. The topic addressed by a paper is also one of the first pieces of information a person tries to extract when reading a scientific abstract. Scientific experts know which topics are pursued in their field, and this information plays a role in their assessments of whether papers are relevant to their interests, which research areas are rising or falling in popularity, and how papers relate to one another” (Griffiths andSteyvers 5228)[1].

As knowing that their academic career and their future promotion depends on their publication in recognizable journals, many master students, or even doctoral students often ask their professors or supervisors on what to write. It seems that choosing a good topic has become an obvious obstacle for many students to start their writing on research papers. Therefore, the purpose of this section is to provide knowledge and perspective so that you will know how to start the writing for your research paper — the process of choosing a topic.

The choice of a research topic involves identifying a general subject area, defining the topic and narrowing it, and stating the topic as a question or hypothesis. In the process of doing research, however, you will refine all of these decisions and formulate one or more preliminary thesis statements (Slade 3)[2].

Identify a general subject

The first step of choosing a research topic is to identify a general subject area that you are most interested in, given that a research topic must spring from your own energies and interests. Such general subject can be identified based on your prior interest and knowledge in the field you study in. In addition, the postgraduate students are often assigned a broad area of study with a particular topic, or a list of possible topics, or a free choice of topic within a broad range.

You can begin to consider your research paper by compiling a list of possible topics while you search and read the relevant encyclopedia entries, books and research papers. At the end of those books or journal articles, the scholars often point out the uncovered area or unsolved controversies in their own work. Such area or unsolved problems would be the research gaps that appeal you to fill in with your research.

Define a specific topic

As you have identified the subject you are interested in and compiled a list of tentative research topics, the next step is to define a research topic by balancing your interest with possibility. The possibility of completing the research paper, according to Carole Slade (4)[3], an American linguistics, can be evaluated with the criteria, such as the importance and interest to your readers, manageability, and availability of resources.

The importance and interest of a research topic, to certain extent, are subjective judgments that depend on the nature of the discipline and the requirement of the instructor. Research is basically a target-oriented activity, it is important for beginning researchers to know what the expectations are in order to choose an appropriate target for their endeavour. Therefore, you should discuss your research topic with your instructor/supervisor and your paper should convince readers of its significance — the empirical contribution[4], theoretical contribution[5], or methodological contribution[6] of your research. In concrete term, your research topic should contribute to the scientific community by adding and/or correcting and/or consolidating either knowledge or potentially useful tool for knowledge acquisition in the discipline related to your research (Gile 20)[7]. Ambitions in research significance, however, may lead you to work on big topics. In this case, in order to choose a suitable research topic, you need to use another basic rule — manageability.

Manageability requires you carefully define the research topic within an appropriate scope to ensure you can conduct the research successfully. If a research topic is too vague or broad, or too narrow, or too specialized, it will prevent you accessing suitable research material or valid research conclusion. A too general or broad topic cannot give the readers a clear direction or sufficient information; while a too narrow topic limited the discussion to research a valid conclusion. A topic that is too specific or technical demands knowledge that may beyond your capability to acquire within the limited time of the research project. With such problems, you need to define your research topic within a specific and manageable scope (Slade 3)[8].

In doing so, you also need to consider the resources available for your research. Some worthwhile and manageable topics are often limited by the unavailable research materials. It is a necessity to check the available resources of the library and the university. You also need to examine the availability of other resources for your research, such as research funds for field study, or lab experimental materials, etc. if your research topic induces survey or experiments. This will help you both in defining a suitable research topic and in choosing and designing your research methods.

 Narrow down the topic

 The purpose of nailing down the topic is to clearly state the topic through formulating a focused and thought-provoking question. The best way to uncover topics in your area of interest is to begin posing questions. Start with the issues that stand out in your mind. Also, read some scholarly literature on approaches you might take. Based on the questions you composed, you may state your topic as a question or as a hypothesis, depending on the nature of the subject and the assignment. After formulating your questions related to your research topic, you will do research to explore the full range of possible answers. As you gather information, you may revise your questions or even define your research topic. If so, you are suggested to discuss such changes with your supervisor timely and regularly. For research involving empirical or descriptive research, you may prefer to state your topic as a hypothesis — a tentative explanation or argument that you will test.

 A research topic must spring from your own energy and interest, but it should be balanced with the goal of your writing. A research topic should have a focus and express thoughts of general importance through detailed analysis of a specific case or cases. There are also many other advices on choosing a suitable research topic, particularly on selecting a research topic for PhD or master thesis/dissertation. Some tips for choosing a research topic of PhD/Master thesis/dissertation are listed in the table 5-1 below. The statement of the research topic then can be developed to the title of your research paper.

 Table 5.1: Tips for choosing a topic for PhD/Master research